Drawing filing arrangements



3 Sheets-Sheet l L. R. GRONKVIST ETAL F l G. 2

DRAWING FILING ARRANGEMENTS Feb. 16, 1965 Filed Sept. 6, 1962 F 1965 1..R. GRONKVIST ETAL 3,169,812

DRAWING FILING ARRANGEMENTS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 6, 1962 1965 L.R. GRGNKVIST ETAL 3,169,312

DRAWING FILING ARRANGEMENTS Filed Sept. 6, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG.7

FIG.8

United States Patent 3,169,812 DRAWING FILING ARRANGEMENTS Lars RolandGrtinkvist, Vedevagsslingan 12, Bandhagen,

Sweden, and Isidor Teodor Ornlinde, Horningsholmsvagen 1, Alvsjo, SwedenFiled Sept. 6, 1962, Ser. No. 221,823 Claims priority, applicationSweden, Sept. 7, 1961, 8,897/ 61 1 Claim. (Cl. BIZ-U0) This invention isconcerned with shelf arrangements for filing drawings or the like, suchas drawing filing cabinets.

It is known in the art to provide drawing filing cabinets withhorizontal drawers or compartments in which the drawings are stackedflatly upon each other. This arrangement is awkward in use, especiallywhen many drawings have to be stacked upon each other in order toeconomize with space, as the weight of the overlying drawings in adrawer or compartment will make it difiicult to extract an underlyingdrawing, and still more difficult to put it back without creasing orotherwise damaging the paper.

According to another known arrangement, the drawings are filed invertical folders suspended in filing cabinets. By that arrangement thedrawings tend to curl and to sink to the bottom of the folders so thatthey may be damaged or even spoilt.

Both these types of filing arrangements furthermore have a ratherlimited capacity for a given floor area.

The invention has for its object to overcome the disad vantages of thehorizontal as well as the vertical filing systems by providing a noveldrawing filing arrangement which permits the filing of a very greatnumber of drawings within a relatively small floor area withoutrendering their handling any more difficult, but on the contraryfacilitating it, said novel arrangement being also such that the riskfor damaging or destroying the drawings is eliminated.

According to the invention shelves for stacking the drawings aredisposed with an inclination of about 45 backwards-downwards, andfolders are provided for the filing of the drawings on said shelves,said folders being made of a thin and comparatively stiff material, suchas cardboard or pasteboard which may be coated with a protective layer.

By the relatively steep inclination of the shelves, of about 45 theweight by which the drawings rest on each other will be materiallyreduced. That will facilitate the extraction and refiling of thedrawings. The handling properties of the arrangement are also greatlyimproved by the provision of the folders. A folder even at the bottom ofa stack of folders on a shelf may easily be extracted without disturbingthe overlying folders, and is also easily replaced, as it will slide byitself or with only light assistance into its proper position, owing tothe chosen inclination of the shelves. The reduced frictional resistancewill make the filing of more drawings on each shelf possible which meansan increased filing capacity for any given floor area. The drawings donot tend to crumble down in the folders, as they are secured againstthat by being sandwiched between the folder covers, which are made of athin, relatively stifi sheet material.

Preferred embodiments of the invention will be described below withreference to the annexed drawings.

In the drawings- FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic elevation view of thesupporting structure and shelf arrangement of a filing cabinet accordingto the invention,

FIGS. 2 and 3 are views of a shelf front support, on a greater scale,

FIGS. 4 and 5 are corresponding views of a shelf rear support,

FIG. 6 is a vertical section through the webs of a front and a backstructural member with shelves and folders,

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of a shelf, and

FIG. 8 is a view from above of the interior of the filing cabinet asillustrated in FIG. 1.

The drawing filing arrangement according to the invention is intended,in the first place, for building-in in cabinets of sheet steel or woodwhich may be of a general construction well known in itself, and whichneed not be more closely described, therefore. In FIG. 1 thediagrammatically illustrated frame structure for a steel cabinet isdenoted 1, and shelves 2 are disposed therein with an inclination ofabout 45 with the forward edge uppermost and the rear edge lowermost.Drawings which are put on the shelves slide downwards against thecabinet rear wall on account of the rather steep inclination which isclearly illustrated in FIG. 6 wherein also are shown folders 3 of acomparatively stiff sheet material such as cardboard. The folders 3 areused for accommodating the drawings which being made on paper or likematerial have no inherent stiffness of their own. The drawings to befiled are of relatively large size as can be seen in FIG. 6 from acomparison between the size of the folders 3 and the human hand shown.In FIG. 6 also are illustrated leaf springs 4 which are secured by oneend to the underside of the shelves 2, and are curved in such a manneras to lightly press the folders 3 together. The other end of the springslides freely on the underside of the shelf, and the spring accordinglymay readily adapt itself to the thickness of the stack of folders on anygiven shelf.

At the front and rear edges the shelves rest upon vertical channelmembers 5 and 6 (FIGS. 1 to 5). The channel members 5 supporting thefront edge may have flanges of unequal width, as illustrated, and thewider flange 5a may be recessed as at 7 for the front edge eleent 8 ofthe lattice-work shelf 2 (FIG. 7) made of metal wire, such as steelWire, while the rear edge element 9 is pivotally supported by one flangeof the rear channel members 6. By virtue of this arrangement each shelfis easy to elevate somewhat at the front edge (as far as the overlyingshelf permits) which facilitates the handling of the drawing folders 3(FIG. 6). The metal wire forming the shelves may be coated with aprotective layer of paint, synthetic resin, or the like.

Modifications are possible within the scope of the invention, and thus,for instance, may the shelves be made in other forms than latticeworkand thus, for instance, may be made of boards with edge fittings for theengagement with the supporting structure. The folders 3 may be providedat the front edge with tag holders of plastic or metal (not illustrated)which may also be formed with finger grips for handling the folders.

What We claim is:

In a cabinet for filing relatively large size drawings made on paper andlike material having no inherent stiffness characteristic, thecombination comprising a supporting structure of vertical channelmembers at the front and the back of the cabinet, respectively, andfiling shelves formed as lattice-work, there being recesses in the frontchannel members for taking up the front member of said 1,416,288 /22Harrah 129-46 shelves and pivotal connections between the aft member 71,983,577 12/34 Straubel 12916 of said shelves and the back channel mmbers, said 2,233,938 3/41 Jones 129' 16 shelves being supported by saidchannel members With 2 392 771 11 42- H b- 124 a backward-downwardinclination of about 45, and being 5 2,334,633 9/45 Markowski X adaptedto be tilted about said pivotal connections when 2 950 541 8/60 Dement Xraised at the front edge, and folder means for the drawings 3023907 3/62ROSS of a relatively stiff sheet material, adapted to accommodate thedrawings when filed upon said shelves.

i I l l v I. 10 FOREIGN PATENTS References Cited by the Examiner 5 230/562 Great i i UNITED STATES PATENTS FRAN, B SHERRY P E r 502,733 3/93Staley 211-51 k mmme" 1,350,186 8/20 Straubel 1295 43 5 CHANCELLOR ELHARRIS, Examiner.

